Water sport recreation involving a tow vessel had previously been focused on one and two ski water skiing. Recently, a sport known as wakeboarding has overtaken water skiing in popularity. As in the former sport, in the latter a rider is towed behind a power boat. However, the rider planes over the water upon a board (with or without foot holds). In either case, advancing riders engage in aerial maneuvers “tricks”. Most often, these involve launching off one side of the wake created by the draft of the boat. The other side of the wake is sometimes, often preferably used as a landing ramp.
As the sport of wakeboarding has advanced, there has been an ever-increasing need for the tow boat to create a larger wake to ride and/or propel aerial maneuvers. A larger wake allows for higher aerials and longer hang time to pull more complex tricks. Such activity is further aided by anchoring the towline at a high elevation above the boat deck. The higher towline anchor point modifies the point of rotation of the line in the vertical direction. At lower elevations, the angle the line makes relative to the water provides some upward component of force; at higher elevations, the downward pull otherwise experience by the line is negated or at least reduced as compared to when a lower anchor point is used. An exemplary towing tower providing higher tow line attachment is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,762. Others may be seen in use on any lake or other suitable body of water or in any of a number of industry publications, including Wake Boarding® magazine.
Another advantage offered in using a tower relative to a stem mounted tow attachment point is in that the attachment point is moved forward. Such tie-in placement helps avoid the rider being pulled in a direction different from that in which the boat is traveling (as occurs when the stem of a boat swings around during a turn). Were it not for interference issues with the passenger/pilot compartment of the boat, is would be preferred to push the point even further forward toward (and even possibly beyond) the bow of the boat. In this way, the rider will always be pulled in the direction the boat is pointing. However, such an arrangement is not feasible with existing tower designs.
The present invention addresses this issue. Still further, the invention provides a manner in which to increase the side-to-side range of the tow rope without lengthening the same. The value of doing so stems from an issue unique to wakeboarding. Namely, employing a relatively shorter rope allows a rider to enjoy the greater height of the wake near the boat. However, the shorter rope decreases the hang time available to a rider who is subject to the rope's pull in a tighter arc. Careful rope length adjustment is typically undertaken to balance these factors. Instead, the present invention offers a system with lesser need to compromise.
The invention does so by employing a rail in association with a towing tower, and a carriage adapted to travel across the rail or beam. While U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,413 shows a stem-mounted rail/slider arrangement and other rope/slider arrangements are known for use in water skiing, these are not configured as in the present invention. More particularly, the system in the '413 patent employs a semicircular rail that results in an effective pivot point at or within its boundaries (as if the rope(s) had a pivot substantially at the rear rail of the boat). Such a configuration is utilized in order to provide clearance from an outboard motor and provide improved boat stability.
In the present invention, however, the rail is configured to provide a forward-located virtual rope pivot as noted. This feat is attained without physically setting the pivot in that location—a task believed either to be impossible, impracticable or unfeasible in view of present boat configuration. In an associated manner, the forward-located virtual pivot point provides additional lateral freedom allowing longer hang time and potential range of motion as is advantageous, particularly in wakeboarding. Therefore, the present invention is distinguished over the referenced systems not only in function, but also by virtue of the different issues presented between water skiing and wakeboarding. It is these very differences that have contributed so greatly to the meteoric rise in the popularity of wakeboarding.